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Chapter 4 - Kremstag, Skiles Kremstag (CF)
Agony forced Tubba awake. He opened his eyes to watery sunlight and a chill breeze rippling up his spine, as he found himself face down, staring at the damp, dark underside of his shell. His tail was throbbing and pulsing in pain, and his left arm felt as if Squeeks were gnawing into his scales, and beyond those, his skin. Pushing himself into a sitting position precariously, as to not overturn his shell, Tubba glanced at his left arm. The red scales were loose, and spots of blood were welling up between the crust of dried blood acting as a bonafide scab. Looking down, Tubba saw that Karubba's club was lying awkwardly inside his shell, with a few scales impaled on the spikes of the club. Right, that's a minor injury. I'm fine there. ''Gathering his courage, Tubba began to turn his gaze to his back, where his tail was. He knew the injury was gruesome, but he was not prepared for what he saw. The tail was almost completely shorn off, with only a small, bloodied stump remaining, the white of bone visible, and a steady stream of blood continued to ooze out of the large gash. Feeling dizzy at the sight of so much blood, Tubba fidgeted around in the shell for a piece of cloth to stem the inevitable flow of blood. Tubba's outer shell normally acted like a backpack, as most shells did to Clubbas. Clubbas were not very magical creatures, but even basic Clubban magic allowed the shells to contain far more than should be possible in that little space in the shell. Indeed, Tubba usually carried Karubba's club in his shell, along with a handful of other useful items, ranging from food to the half of the Clubban regalia he still kept, sixteen years after giving up his claim to the throne. His undershell was visible because of the fact he was sitting in his shell, gently bobbing in the ocean. Most of the shelled species had a backup shell to protect their private regions when their primary shells were detached, and Tubba was no different. When the shell was on, the undershell changed to the colour of the skin, thus shrouding the privates from view. As Tubba looked down in his shell, he saw that much of the food - Ultra Mushrooms especially - were ruined by the salty seawater pooling in the bottom of the shell. Wincing at the thought of the seawater pouring into the gash on his tail, he quickly grabbed a shirt that he happened to have in his shell, and, with difficulty, began to wrap it around his tail. Tubba disliked shirts - they were way too cumbersome - but sometimes he was required to wear them. And, to be frank, Tubba was quite glad, as the shirt was instantly soaked through with blood, but it prevented new blood from pulsing out of the gap. His safety established, Tubba turned his focus to the sea around him. The sunlight was watery, so Tubba guessed that it was still early in the morning. There was no sign of the storm of last night, for Tubba could see for miles in all directions, over the blue-green expanse that was the sea. Pushing himself into a more comfortable position in the shell, Tubba grabbed Karubba's club in an effort to ignore the pain that was still pulsing through his body. Letting his thoughts wander, Tubba realized that despite having possessed the club at various points over sixteen years and for the past six years, he still referred to it as Karubba's club - Karubba was his grandfather, and their lifespans had never crossed. The only person Tubba had ever known from the generation above his father's was Yurgen Blubba, Karubba's brother. Letting his eyes wander over the expanse that was the ocean again, Tubba questioned whether there was any naval vessels in the vicinity. Although the Mushroom World had had flight for more than sixty years, it was still very government owned and designed to assist the military of the Kingdoms, rather than be a convenience for the citizens of the world. So, if citizens were to travel the world, it would be by sea, not air. This was why Tubba was holding out hope that a ship would come by his area of the sea sooner rather than later. Although Tubba was right, it would be an hour and half before he noticed the first ship on the horizon. In that time, he had let his mind wander to his next moves. The risk of waiting to be rescued by a ship was that he was wanted in all the Kingdoms of the east Mushroom World. The Mushroom Kingdom, Sarasaland, the BeanBean Kingdom, the Waffle Kingdom and Rogueport all had ports in the general vicinity of where he was, with Sarasaland the closest on the east, and the Waffle Kingdom to the northwest. As such, when the ship saw Tubba floating in the water, Tubba was prepared to fight. He was one of the burliest and strongest species in the Mushroom World, with only Kritters and the superior Koopan line posing a challenge to the strength of the Clubba. Consequently, Tubba was quite confident that he would be able to best any rowdy Captain he might encounter. The ship more closely resembled the ancient SS Mahruav Tubba had once ridden on than the modern freighters, yachts and tankers that roamed the seas in the modern era, with a wooden hull, sails and flags bearing an insignia that Tubba was unfamiliar with. Having kept up with the news over the six years, Tubba had yet to see a country or a notable group in the Mushroom World that had flags that were green and had baring teeth on them. However, his question was soon answered by the shapes moving around on the deck. ''Kritters. Tubba thought, just my luck. He could see the anthropomorphic crocodiles moving around and slowing the ship down enough to toss a rope ladder over the side. "Ahoy there!" A blue one called. "You, Clubba! Climb aboard! Don't try any funny business!" Tubba gave the Kritter a thumbs up with his hand - if they would be peaceable, so would he. Although, if they wouldn't, Tubba figured that he wouldn't have much choice, considering how much he was outnumbered. As the rope ladder approached him, Tubba grabbed it with both his hands, feeling it sag beneath his weight. Not wanting to leave his shell behind, Tubba grabbed it by the white rim and gently scaled the ladder, one-handed, while careful not to tip the contents of the shell into the ocean. Heaving himself over the railing and on to the deck to grunts of the Kritters holding the rope ladder and supporting him, Tubba took a moment to collect his shell and place it on him, before grabbing Karubba's club to stand resolute, surrounded by Kritters in a ragged semicircle. He could see the rough lifestyle in their well-muscled body, the wariness in their eyes, and the fact a few were tightly gripping spiked maces. Kritters were large, burly creatures, with faces resembling crocodiles but legs that were human, spiked bracers worn on the wrists and claws on the hands. These were definitely creatures Tubba did not want to mess with. "Captain Kremstag. Tell us what to do with this Clubba we found." Tubba heard a red one mutter in the crowd directly ahead of him. "Ahoy, Clubba." A brown Kritter strode up to Tubba, his large feet thumping heavily against the wood of his ship. Aside from the captain's hat he wore on his forehead, he was rather indistinguishable from the rest of the Kritters. If Tubba had to guess who was captain, it would not be this small, inconspicuous Kritter. He continued in a deep voice normal for Kritters: "I am Skiles Kremstag, Captain of this crew. My men tell me we found you at sea. Care to explain why?" Instant foreboding laced through Tubba. He had had a meeting like this before, meeting Gerald Spilkau, the captain of the SS Mahruav, sixteen years ago, after splitting from Gusty Gulch immediately following the murder of Bubba. Now, as then, Tubba knew it would be unwise to divulge the full story. Rather, he would make up a story laced with half-truths to make it more believable. "I was working in my Kingdom and felt misused, and alone. Because I am able to harness electricity," Tubba halted in his story for a moment to show the Kritters the crackle of electricity between his three digits on his left hand. "I decided to try and teleport to Rogueport. I failed, and my tail didn't make it through." He gestured at his tail with his club-holding right hand. "Misused and alone?" Captain Kremstag scratched his chin, clearly not satisfied with the story. Tubba smirked, that was the true part of the story. "I'll buy it." Captain Kremstag grunted, before adding. "What's your name, Clubba?" "Tubba Red Clubba Blubba II." Tubba rattled off easily; before realizing a second too late that he had conceded too much. While not many Kritters showed recognition at the name, a few began to mutter among themselves. "What's that, Barblar?" Captain Kremstag turned to one of the Kritters in the crowd. "There's a Glitz Pit battler who's wanted in five Kingdoms named that?" Met with the affirmative, Tubba waited for the blow to fall. Gerald had turned on Tubba the moment he realized that he was a fugitive, and Tubba was expecting Kremstag to do the same. To his surprise, Kremstag merely scratched his chin some more and said: "I don't like being lied to. That said, I can sympathize with your plight." "Meaning?" Tubba queried, distinctly aware of the Kritters closing in on all sides of him. If it came to a fight, there was no way that he would win. To his relief, Kremstag didn't seen keen on a fight. "If I took you into a Kingdom to get arrested, Alm would want all the reward." Kremstag mused; Tubba didn't know who Alm was, but neither did he care, for it seemed that Kremstag would not turn Tubba in to the authorities. Kremstag sighed. "Look, Tubba, or Lubba, whatever your name is. I'm pretty pissed you tried to pull a fast one on me," Kremstag snorted, sounding quite calm, "but I'm not going to be your bane. Things haven't been the same among us Kritters since Rool died and Alm - that's his son - became our leader. I can empathize what you're going through. But I won't be caught keeping a fugitive on my deck. I'll take you to where you want to go, and that's all." Relief flooded over Tubba as he let out a breath and relaxed muscles he had subconsciously tensed. Around him, the Kritters seemed satisfied with their Captain's decision and began to disperse. Thinking there was no more to be said, Kremstag gave Tubba a nod, and turned to his crewmates, firing orders to get the ship moving again. "Captain Kremstag!" Tubba called, causing the brown Kritter to turn around impatiently, exhaling through his nose loudly. "What?" Kremstag said irritably, narrowing his eyes, locking eyes with Tubba. "Thanks."